From oldzuto@yahoo.com Tue Apr 26 12:51:58 2005
Subject:Re: Why you should use both your L&R outputs (was:XK3 C/V)

Ed,
Great links..and advise.
Thanks for sharing.
Bob


ed fliege wrote:
What JP wrote is exactly right, Y-cables are a bad idea. We all know that you would never physically combine the L and R speaker
wires from the outputs of a stereo amp and attach the two together up to one speaker. If you were lucky enough not to blow up the
amp, phasing problems would create a very thin and incomplete sound. While combining two line level outputs in the same manner
(which is what a Y-cable does) is not quite as dangerous to your equipment, the potential for all the same phasing problems still
exists. These days all modern keyboards are designed to be played in stereo, and even though they all provide a 'summed mono'
output, some keyboards achieve this with better results than others, whereas some keyboards have merely the equivalent of a 'Y'
cable internally, and you'd have to experiment with your particular keyboard to see how well it achieves a true summed mono signal.
While it takes a little more effort, the only way to truly ensure that you're getting the full and complete audio signal from your
keyboard is to use both L&R outputs into the separate inputs of an amp or mixer. You can still play in mono, and no, it won't sound
as good as playing through two separate L&R speakers, but at least your L&R audio signals will be correctly electronically combined
by the circuitry in your combo amp or mixer.
This is one reason a JBL EON-G2 makes a great keyboard monitor, because it has a mini 3 input mixer built in which makes it very
easy to hook up both L&R outputs from one keyboard and still play in mono where space is a premium. So that I can always utilize
all of my keyboards' L&R outputs, I use a single space line mixer in my live rack (currently an Ashly LX-308B), but if you're only
playing one or two keyboards a cheap and easy solution is either an Art PowerMIX I or Behringer MicroMix MX400 (both $20-$25) which
is well worth the extra $15 you'd have spent on a $10 RadioShack Y-cable. If you need the flexibility of having either a summed
mono out or a stereo feed you can send to a P.A. mixer then a small Behringer mixer like a EuroRack MX602A or a EuroRack UB802 (both
$60) will work great, and you get some extra EQ as a bonus.
And ALWAYS use good quality cables for all your connections; one of the first audio lessons I learned at a young age is that your
final sound will only be as good as it's weakest link. There's no reason to buy over-priced Monster or Mogami cabling unless you've
got money to burn - just get something decent instead of 'bargain bin' or 'close-out special' cables. Audiopile sells great EWI
cabling for very reasonable prices - I get all my cabling from them. You can actually call them for advice, and if you ask nicely
they'll even make up custom cables for you (I use the Pro-quad twisted-pair mic cables with 1/4" TRS jacks for all my balanced
connections).
http://www.audiopile.net/
Bottom line is that for VERY little money you can make sure that you always get the maximum fidelity out of your keyboard.
Handy links:
http://www.ashly.com/product/lx-series.htm
http://www.samash.com/catalog/showitem.asp?ItemID=31027
http://www.behringer.com/MX400/index.cfm?lang=ENG
http://www.behringer.com/MX602A/index.cfm?lang=ENG
http://www.behringer.com/UB802/index.cfm?lang=ENG

Ed Fliege
k2mojo@groovedaddies.com

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